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TOP 25 SONGS OF THE PAST YEAR: 20 - 16

20. “A Meal Can Be Made” - Prurient

“…Construct[s] an even darker, deeper, violent, emotionally charged edifice to love, lust, and wanting to rip someone apart. - Stereogum

Download | Buy

19. “Now You Do” - Chris D’eon

“The seven-minute ‘Now You Do’ is a righteous jam that exists in the computerized-come-on zone, with a new-media R&B pulse, a bridge of jackhammer bass lush as silk, and soulful, reedy vocals that feel just as smooth.” - Stereogum

Download | Buy

18. “True Delusion” - Bon Accord

“…Filled with swirling synth melodies and an irresistible dance floor thump. - Good Pop, Bad Pop

Download | Buy

17. “Playing House” - Active Child

“…A sort of summit meeting of forlorn bedroom-indie falsetto addicts Active Child and How To Dress Well.” - Stereogum

Download | Buy

16. “California Birds (Keep Shelly in Athens remix)” - Abadabad

“…Pop with heavy doses of dreaminess and synthesizer bounces.” - Prefix

Download | Buy

TARAGANA PYJARAMA - “GIRLS”

I’m a little late to this game, but I don’t think that Danish two-piece Taragana Pyjarama is sufficiently well- known enough for me to feel bad for passing this single of theirs over. Unite the trademark electronic minimalism of artists like The Field and Pantha du Prince with the lush and exotic themes represented by chillwave’s top players, and you have the gist of their sound. Slice out the most emotionally evocative one-minute section in your average Tycho track, and build a five-plus minute fort out of the buoyant loops and subtle variations, and you have “Girls”, by Taragana Pyjarama. The above video, directed by Emmanuel Beaudry, appears to be something of a “radio edit” of the song, the original version of which is easily twice as long and twice as cathartic. Do tha right thing, and take a ride on the side of electronic music that all of the radio-friendly chillwavers are secretly emulating. Grab a copy of the epic single “Girls”, by Taragana Pyjarama below, along with another track from the same 2011 self-titled EP on Fool House that put the boys on the radar, “Ocean”. Like what you hear? Grab a copy of the five-track stunner via Amazon or iTunes, or browse the full menu here. I see there’s a Teengirl Fantasy remix featured on it, and it also looks they’ve got a debut full-length entitled Tipped Bowls, due out in less than a week via Kompakt. How wonderfully appropriate.

MP3 Download of “Girls”, by Taragana Pyjarama

MP3 Download of “Ocean”, by Taragana Pyjarama

MUX MOOL’S “CASH FOR GOLD” VIDEO

Mux Mool, independent electronic music’s biggest badass right now, just released a proper music video for one of the many singles from his most recent full length Planet High School. “Cash for Gold”, a shambling synth-funk villain theme, features a Simon Pegg-esque office drone permafrosted in the 70’s that finds his true calling of serving the dark Mux Mool master while en route home from his spirit-crushing job. Powered by various visions and manifestation of a badazz digital demon lord, our plucky hero toils through the night, building himself a suit of armor and a gigantic cannon that only seems to use diamonds as ammunition. What havoc will our Mux Mool-crazed protagonist manage to wreak upon his chauvinistic Chris Traeger-esque employer? What is his ultimate destiny? Why does that bear have a chainsaw for an arm? You’ll have to watch director Bo Mirosseni’s beboppin’ video for Mux Mool’s “Cash for Gold” in order to find out. Do tha right thing, and snatch yourself a copy of his newest effort via iTunes, Amazon, or The Ghostly Store afterwards. The Dark Lord wishes it.

MP3 Download of “Cash for Gold”, by Mux Mool

MP3 Download of “Palace Chalice”, by Mux Mool

Keep Shelly in Athens is a bit hard to come by. There are a couple mainstays that any curator of hipster trash is bound to have heard, namely “Cremona Memories” and “Fokionos Negri Street”, but for the most part, they don’t seem to be out to move units. Both featured in their In Love With Dusk EP, these two must-hears by Keep Shelly in Athens perfectly rep the exotic, lounging sound that Keep Shelly in Athens has created (and hopefully will continue to create). In Love With Dusk is physically available only as a two-sided 12” vinyl, which is disappointing for us hipsters who haven’t got victrolas.





In addition, the band doesn’t seem to have a Bandcamp page, so as a result, your best bet is either to download the digital EP via Amazon (for a very fair price) or just fuckin download a .zip file and then go buy a T-shirt from them to atone for your sins. Whatever your choice, Keep Shelly in Athens is simply a necessity for the chillwave album archive, as it perfectly embodies a facet of hipster music that pulls from exotic and non-Western musical influences and fuses those seamlessly with the spice of snazzy guitar licks, the comfort of subtle jazz inflections, and the warmth of a downtempo beat (à la Teengirl Fantasy or Hard Mix). Keep Shelly in Athens makes you feel like mid-afternoon in an idyllic suite at a hotel on the seaside in the Adriatic watching a sassy African woman slowly strip it all off. Do tha right thing!

MP3 Download of “Cremona Memories”, by Keep Shelly in Athens (right click + “save as”)

MP3 Download of “Fokionos Negri Street”, by Keep Shelly in Athens (right click + “save as”)

(Photos reposted from Keep Shelly in Athens’ Blogspot.)